Flying

Those business negotiations have taken an unexpected twist and you need to be in some far-off country as soon as possible. Arranging a flight? No problem. Packing? Piece of cake. Renewing your passport or getting a visa from a foreign government in a hurry? Here you might need help. This is where the services of a passport expediter can be invaluable.

The dish: Jumbo prawns hand-rubbed in a selection of dried chilis and served with mangoes, tomatoes, cucumbers and cotilla cheese with choice of dressing.
The caterer: In Flight Services, Phoenix, (866) 844-2300.

Cessna was late to the very light jet party. When the company first announced the Citation Mustang, in 2002, it refused to call it a light jet. Cessna CEO Jack Pelton to this day refuses to label the airplane a VLJ and instead describes it as a "downward defense of the product line."

In an ideal world, you'd have it all-a Wi-Fi Internet connection, e-mail access on your BlackBerry, four bars of signal strength on your cellphone and 200 channels of satellite television on a big, flat high-definition screen, all from the comfort of your seat in the cabin. In short, you'd have technologies that would make your time in the air more like your time on the ground.

While the average car winds up on the junk heap after about 13 years, the typical business jet has a much longer lifespan. In fact, at least a few are still flying after more than 40 years (see box below). One vintage jet we found is owned by Rick Edwards and Louis May of Little Rock, Ark., who are business partners and have been friends since childhood.

Airbus followed Boeing into the prepackaged "bizliner" market in 1997. That's when it announced the Airbus Corporate Jet (ACJ), a then $35 million executive version of its A319 airliner. At first, ACJ sales were sluggish, while Boeing initially did well with its 737 airliner variant. Today, Boeing has sold more than 100 of its Boeing Business Jets (BBJs).

Savvy business jet travelers well know and appreciate the speed, security, convenience and time-saving benefits of private air travel. But how can you prolong the experience after you arrive at your destination? Where can you arrange a discreet meeting with the chairman of the company you've been wooing as an investment partner?

Chances are, you haven't heard of A008, which sounds like a new secret agent. In fact, there's nothing secret about it-but there might as well be, considering how little many business aircraft owners know about its potentially deadly impact.

While the major fractional providers are still selling plenty of business-jet shares, recent reports indicate that they're also repurchasing existing shares at a rapid rate. As a result, net growth (sales minus repurchases) is at the lowest level in years.

Quote/Unquote

“[New billionaires in fast-growing countries] have to buy longer-range airplanes. If you’re flying from Mongolia to Nigeria, it’s either a three-day journey flying commercial or a nine-hour flight on your jet.”